Storm
by Silver Anansi
Summary: Slightly AU. Kai is in trouble.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade and I never will, so leave me alone.  
  
Storm  
By  
Xi Na  
  
Lightning flashed through the darkened sky followed quickly by the rather deafening boom of thunder. The rain fell heavily to the ground and a cold wind blew hard against the side of the house. The slate haired boy wanted to run out into the storm, but knew his idiot teammates would follow thinking he was in danger. He sighed and drew strength and comfort from the raging storm. He got bored just looking at the storm and didn't care whether they would follow him outside or not.  
  
He opened the door just as a new bolt of lightning hit the ground and the thunder rolled two seconds later. He walked across the threshold and closed the door. He decided to stand over on the little hill that lay just fifty feet from the door. His teammates became immediately concerned because he had abruptly gone out into the tempest. A raven-haired teen with golden brown eyes walked over to the window and looked out. He saw his teammate standing on the small rise, his face turned up to the rain and a smile on his face.  
  
He walked over to his other teammates and said, "Kai is standing over on that little hill getting soaked". A blond teen looked up at him and said, "Let's get him out of the storm before he gets sick". A black haired boy piped up, "Why should we? He is always mean to us and it would serve him right to get sick, he went out into the storm". The other three looked at him incredulously and a brunette boy with a laptop said, "If he gets sick, then he will make us train twice as hard and push himself harder than he already does, so let's get out there and bring him back inside".  
  
Just as they got the door open, a thoroughly soaked Kai walked through the group and went to his bedroom. He entered the bedroom and looked at the two twin sized beds and then out the window at the storm again. He went into the bathroom and peeled off his wet clothes. He put a towel around his waist, walked out of the bathroom to his bag, and pulled out a crimson t-shirt that rivaled the color of his eyes and a pair of black sweat pants. He walked back into the bathroom, put on his dry boxers and then his clothes and towel dried his hair.  
  
He walked out of the bathroom, his hair still damp and he climbed into his bed. He looked out the window at the storm again, the window was just two feet from the side of his bed and he wanted to go outside into the tempest again, but he was just out there in the storm five minutes ago. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep feeling more relaxed and calm than he had in a long while. The others looked into the bedroom at him before shrugging and saying goodnight to each other. The raven- haired teen walked into the room and quietly closed the door. He took off his traditional Chinese outfit and changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of red shorts. He climbed into his bed and fell asleep quickly.  
  
He realized he was in his old home again and tried to stay calm. He walked down the blood red hallway toward his parent's room. He walked to their bedside and tried to awaken them. He noticed a red liquid on the pillow next to each of their heads, but kept trying to wake them up. It was a half an hour later and he was on the phone. He timidly asked for his grandfather to the relatively cheerful voice on the other end of the phone. His grandfather's voice came over the line and he told his grandfather that his parents wouldn't wake up and he saw a red liquid on the pillows next to their heads. His grandfather quickly told him to stay by the front door until he got there. He told him okay and hung up. His grandfather showed up fifteen minutes later and told him to stay in the living room while he went to check on his parents. He came back, picked up the phone, and dialed for the police. The police and coroner's office people showed up and looked over the scene, took pictures and put the bodies in the body bags. The police questioned the slate haired boy's grandfather for an hour before they left; looking sadly to the small five- year- old child left behind and shaking their heads.  
  
He woke up, sweating and looked outside to see the storm had subsided, and then he looked at the clock on the nightstand between the beds seeing it read four-thirty in the morning. He knew he wouldn't get back to sleep after that nightmare and walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. He took off his clothes, and then jumped into a scalding shower that helped him to get in control of his emotions again. He thought 'Why did I have that nightmare again? I thought it had stopped a year ago'. He sighed as he got out of the shower and dried off changing into a clean set of clothes that are an exact copy of what he always wears. He looked at his reflection in the mirror before rubbing the blue shark fin tattoos on his cheeks and sighing again.  
  
He walked out of the bathroom and grabbed Dranzer before he walked outside the moderately sized white house to train. He had been training for four hours before anyone else came outside. He looked up and as he thought, it was Rei and he looked slightly peeved. He came up to Kai and said, "Why did you go out into the storm last night?" Kai ignored him and continued to train. Rei looked frustrated with his behavior and he went back into the house to get some breakfast.  
  
Kai followed Rei after another half hour of training. Rei glared at him and asked him again, "Why did you go out into the storm last night?" Kai looked at him and thought 'Why did I go out into the storm?' He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know". Rei growled and said, "If you aren't going to tell me, then I'll be forced to beat it out of you". Kai had stopped listening before Rei said anything about beating him up to get answers. His mind drifted back to his nightmare and/or past and he growled. He didn't want to be haunted by this the rest of his life, but he knew he probably would be.  
  
Rei shivered involuntarily when Kai growled, but he just growled back and Kai looked at him confused. Kai says, "Did I miss something?" Rei looks at him in shock and says, "Didn't you hear a word I said?" Kai shrugs and says, "You said something about me not telling you, then I guess I stopped paying attention". Rei looks at him and says, "WTF? You stopped listening when I was talking; I am going to beat you up to get the answers". Kai is still slightly confused and Kenny had just entered the kitchen with Dizzi tucked under his arm. He heard what Rei said and he said, "OMG, have you lost your mind?" Rei glared at Kenny and responded, "Kai won't answer my questions and he stopped listening while I was talking". Kenny says, "OMG, is that such a crime? He hardly listens to us and he never answers our questions, why are you freaking out over this?" Kai stood up then and exited the house again. He needed to think about his nightmare/past some more and knew that if he stayed inside, he wouldn't get the opportunity.  
  
Tyson, Max, Rei and Kenny came out of the house to train thirty minutes later and Kai moved over to small hill and sat down cross- legged and continued to think about his nightmare/past some more. His shoulders slumped and he was frustrated because he couldn't figure out why the nightmare came back again. The others stopped their training and walked over to him, they had some serious questions to ask him. He looked up and saw them approaching and stood up. He needed to get his frustration out and training would help somewhat. He walked past them to the dish and launched Dranzer. He heard a crow caw and groaned. He thought 'What is going on Brother Crow?" He heard the answer in his head, it was, the nightmare came back because the person who killed your parents is now after you. He sighed out, "Oh shit".  
  
The others notice his more depressed mood. Max asks, "Kai is there something wrong?" Kai glances at him and says, "No, I just got to use the phone". With that said Kai walked inside the house and picked up the phone. He dialed the number of his grandfather and asked the secretary on the other end to speak to him. The next thing he heard was his grandfather's voice asking him what was wrong because Kai doesn't usually call. He says, "I need to know everything about mom and dad's murder". Voltaire asks, "Why? That is in the past". Kai replies, "Not exactly". Voltaire asks, "What are you talking about?" Kai says, "The person who killed them may be after me now". Voltaire replies, "Okay, if you believe it, I'll send you all the information I have about their murder". They say goodbye to each other and Kai goes over to the computer they all share and turns it on.  
  
The others come in soon after Kai finished his phone call and they see Kai on the computer. Kai opens his hotmail account, sees the e-mail from his grandfather, and prints it off. About thirty pages are printed and Kai grabs them and turns the computer off before he goes to his and Rei's bedroom to look it over. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kai reemerged from the bedroom at dinnertime. All he had discovered was the police had absolutely no clues as to who could have killed his parents. The police thought it looked like an execution style murder. You know a classic Italian mob hit. They concluded it had to be a professional assassin because there were no foreign fingerprints, DNA or any signs of forced entry. Kai growls and whispers, "I thought there would be at least one clue". The others look at him as he enters the kitchen and sits down. Rei asks, "Kai, what was that you printed off and why did you go out into the storm last night?" Kai glances at him and says, "None of your business and as I said earlier I don't know. Now can we stop with the twenty questions?"  
  
Kenny looks at Kai and says, "Kai, you can tell us, we're your friends". Kai stopped listening again because he was trying to remember anything that could be a clue that he might not have noticed before in his nightmare/past. Kai came back to Earth when he noticed Max's hand waving in front of his face. He growls out, "What do you want?" Max responds, "Well I was asking you what time training starts tomorrow, but you apparently weren't paying attention". Kai says, "Practice starts at six thirty in the morning. You guys wasted time today". Tyson yells, "Six thirty has an A.M.?" They all look at him and say, "Yes, you idiot". They have all lost their appetite, except for Tyson of course.  
  
Kai goes onto the computer again and writes an e-mail to his grandfather stating he didn't find anything in the information that was sent. He sent the e-mail and then surfed the Internet looking for any information on the murder of his parents and he still didn't find anything. The others watched TV and tried to figure out what was going on with Kai. Just as Kai turned the computer off, the electricity went out. Kai hears a menacing laugh and asks the others if they heard anything. They say nope, they didn't hear anything. The electricity comes back on and Kai looks around and notices a note next to him.  
  
He picks up the note and turns it over. He noticed some blood red ink scrawled on the front of it. The ink or the handwriting to be more precise said Kai Hiwatari. He opened the note and read it. It said, I am the one who killed your parents and your next. You cannot stop me and tell your little friends to watch out also. He groaned and said, "Oh great, like it wasn't bad enough already". The others look at him quizzically and then notice the note in his hand. Rei asks, "Kai, what is that in your hand?" Kai laughs and says, "It is probably time I told you all about my past". Tyson looks at him and says, "Okay, Kai".  
  
Kai responds, "You guys are now on his list too". Max looks at him and says, "What list? What are you talking about?" Kai explains to them how his parents were murdered and now how his suspicions have been confirmed as to the fact their killer is after him and now them. They gasp and say, "Why is he after us?" Kai responds, "You are near me. And this guy probably will kill us all". They are still in shock, so Kai walks over to them and smacks them all. They all respond by saying "OW! That wasn't necessary". Kai just laughs and says, "Yes it was, you were all sitting there with your jaws on the floor". They look at him indignantly and Tyson says, "You would have too after receiving that kind of information". Kai rolls his eyes and says, "Grow up Tyson, we're not five years old anymore". Tyson glares at him and growls. They all decide to go to bed to process this new information. Kai tells them to remember training starts at six thirty.  
  
He was in his old house again and he looked around trying to see if anything was out of place. He notices there is a full glass of water on his mother's bedside table and looks around for any other clues. He leaves the room to look for clues in the rest of the house; he doesn't find anything out of place, so he goes back to his parent's room. He looks at his mother's bedside table, sees an empty glass, and then thinks he sees the light on in his parent's bathroom. He wakes up and says, "Of course, why didn't I notice that sooner".  
  
Rei wakes up and hears Kai talking to himself about a full glass of water and then seeing an empty glass. He asks, "Kai, what are you talking about?" He glances at the clock and sees it says one thirty in the morning. He groans and tells Kai to go back to sleep, so he can too. Kai seems oblivious to him, so Rei gets out of bed and waves his hand in front of Kai's face. Kai is still not responding, so Rei smacks him. Kai says, "Hey, what did you do that for, you jerk?" Rei whispers, "You didn't respond to anything else I did". Kai whispers back, "Oh, sorry". Rei responds, "Now will you go back to sleep or do I have to make you?" Kai looks at him and says, "Ok, I'm going back to sleep and you better be up for training later".  
  
They are all up at six. They eat breakfast and then they train for five hours before Tyson complains about being hungry again. They were all somewhat tired and went in for a couple of hours rest. They eat lunch and then train for three more hours, when they hear the phone ring. Kai runs into the house and answers it. The voice on the other end is Mr. Dickinson telling them he is coming there the next day with Tyson's grandfather and a new member of the team. Kai says, "You got someone to join the team without asking me about it first? I am the team captain and should be asked first". 


	3. Chapter 3

Kai walked back outside and told the others what Mr. Dickinson just told him. They decided to stop training for the day and straighten up the house. They ate a quiet dinner and then went to bed. The next morning they all got up at seven and got dressed. They ate breakfast and went outside to train. Mr. Dickinson, Tyson's grandfather, and their new team member arrived at nine o'clock. They all warmly welcomed Mr. Dickinson and Tyson's grandfather.  
  
Their new team member had mid-back length blood red hair, blue-gray eyes, and opalescent skin. They wore black leather boot cut pants, a tight black t-shirt, a black leather trench coat, and commando style black boots. They carried a black leather backpack with many pockets. Their hair was in a braid wrapped into a bun and tied with a black satin ribbon. They also wore an ankh on an army type chain, a pair of bronze wolf earrings, and a silver ring with three turquoise stars on their left ring finger. Tyson is the first to speak up. He said, "A GIRL? Are you nuts? Kai, why didn't you tell us about this?" Kai just grunts and shakes his head. Mr. Dickinson introduces her as Gypsy Balan.  
  
Gypsy smirks at them and walks over to the dish they had been training at a few minutes before. She looks at the dish for about five minutes before launching her silver and turquoise beyblade into it. Kai walked over to the opposite side of the dish and launched Dranzer. He intends to test her. He calls out Dranzer and proceeds to attack her beyblade rather unsuccessfully. She quietly says, "Shi-Wei, please come out now". A huge to say the least, black crow emerges from her beyblade and goes right for Dranzer. Roughly, five seconds later, Dranzer is out of the dish. They all stand there in shock, except for Mr. Dickinson, who had seen her in action before. Gypsy then launches a second beyblade into the dish. It is black and blood red.  
  
She calls out her second bitbeast, "Zorro, train with Shi-Wei". Zorro immediately obeys and an intense battle commences. Zorro is a fox and is also huge. Tyson immediately asks, "How did she get two bitbeasts?" Shi-Wei caws at him and he almost pees his pants. She tells them that they need to train harder. She holds out her hands and both beyblades fly into them. Kenny, who has been trying to analyze her beyblades and bitbeasts, asks if he can look at them. She looks at him as he tries to grab them from her hands and says, "Look with your eyes, not with your hands". Tyson says, "We've got another Kai on our hands".  
  
Suddenly he finds himself on the ground with two very strong hands wrapped firmly around his throat. Gypsy gets a chill suddenly and looks around trying to figure out why, with her hands still wrapped around Tyson's throat. She releases him and says, "F****n terrific," very sarcastically. They all look at her puzzled and Rei asks, "What is terrific?" She responds, "Nothing". The others shrug and silently agree she is like Kai.  
  
Mr. Dickinson tells Kai to be careful of her temper and to keep her out of trouble. He also tells him that they will be back in a week to check up on them. They all say goodbye to those two and go into the house. It was lunchtime and everyone was hungry, especially Tyson. Gypsy has an apple and a glass of water. The others eat turkey and cheese sandwiches and have some soda. Gypsy leaves the room and goes outside again. She pulls her personal CD player out of her backpack; she puts the headphones in her ears and hits the play button. The first song that plays is "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" by Toby Keith. She started to sing along with the song. She sang, "As soon as we could clearly through our big black eye, man we lit up your world like the fourth of July. Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list and the Statue of Liberty starting shaking her fist. And the eagle will fly and it's going to be hell. When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell and it will feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you. Brought to you courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue".  
  
She felt someone leave the house and start coming toward her. She looked and saw it was Kai. He asked, "How did you get two bitbeasts and how did you get those blading skills?" She responds, "I don't have to tell you anything". He says, "Tell me or suffer the consequences". She laughs and says sweetly, "You would beat up a girl, well then I guess you have no honor". He yells, "It isn't about honor, it's about getting answers". Just as he finishes Rei walks out the door toward them. Rei wants to know how she got two bitbeasts too. She responds, "If I won't tell him, what makes you think I'll tell you?" Rei is still frustrated about Kai not answering him the other day and growls. She growls right back and says, "Your pathetic growls won't make me tell you". He responds, "We did get stuck with another Kai, no offense Kai". Kai glares at him as Gypsy her hands around his scrawny neck. Kai lets her choke him for a couple of minutes before he pulls her off. Rei, unfortunately or fortunately, has passed out from lack of oxygen.  
  
Max and the others come outside just as Kai releases her and see Rei just regaining consciousness. They look confusedly at the scene in front of them before Max asks, "What happened?" Rei says rather hoarsely, "I said what Tyson said earlier". The others just say oh okay. Max mentally notes to not piss her off. Kenny does so also. 


	4. Chapter 4

Gypsy walks over to the dish and announces she wants to watch them train. Max and Kenny immediately walk over and get setup. Rei rubs his neck and walks a little unsteadily over and Kai follows him seeing as she did kick his ass earlier and he wants to get better. Tyson looks at the others like they're crazy. She says, "Don't make me come over there". Tyson takes his sweet time walking over to where they are standing. Max pinches him and whispers, "Don't piss her off". Tyson responds, "Why shouldn't I, are you scared of a girl?" Max shakes his head yes. Gypsy quietly observed the exchange between them. She laughs a little and then clears her throat. The others look at her and she tells Kai to go first.  
  
She launches Zorro into the dish and a battle commences. Gypsy stops her CD and changes it to her copy of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP. Zorro played with Dranzer for about fifteen minutes, you know letting Kai think he was winning. Gypsy tells Zorro to end it because it is getting tiresome. Dranzer goes flying through the air and towards Tyson, who wasn't paying attention and, gets cut on his right cheek. He holds his cheek and says, "OW! You, you B***h!" She simply states, "You should have been paying attention".  
  
They train against her for five more hours before it gets dark. It starts raining shortly after they finish their dinner. Gypsy gets on the Internet from the aforementioned, shared computer. She checks her hotmail account and sees an e-mail from Mr. Dickinson. She opens it and reads. It says, be careful of your temper and try to stay out of trouble. Also, I will be back in a week, maybe less. Don't kill anyone before the tournament, please. No, not even Tyson. He is an essential member of the team and it wouldn't look good. I know, it isn't fair, we still need him, so don't kill him. I will talk to you later.  
  
She surfs the Internet for a while before she turns the computer off. It is bedtime and we all know what that means. Tyson, Kenny, and Max all share the larger of the two bedrooms. Kai and Rei say in unison, "We'll work something out". The three other boys look at them and say, "Okay". Gypsy looks at them all and says, "Is something wrong?" Tyson, Max, and Kenny, all run into their bedroom and lock the door. Kai grunts and Rei leads her over to the only other bedroom, that as we all know has two twin- sized beds. She instantly sees the problem. She thinks, 'Three people, two beds'. She turns to the two remaining members of the Bladebreakers and says, "This is easily solved, you two sleep in that bed and I will sleep in the bed next to the window". They are tired and just go with it. They change into shorts and t-shirts, her in the bathroom and them in the bedroom and get into bed.  
  
She finds herself in an unfamiliar blood red hallway seeing a slate- haired little boy run into a room. She follows him and sees him trying to wake up his parents, she can tell because he keeps saying, "Mommy, Daddy, wake up". She notices what appears to be blood near their heads on the pillows. She moves closer and puts a hand on the shoulder of the little boy. He turns to her and throws his arms around her legs. She bends down, gathers him in her arms, and hugs him telling him it will be okay. He cries into her shirt and she rubs his back in soothing circles, trying to calm him down.  
Gypsy wakes up at six and quietly slips out of bed, grabbing a pair of black jeans, a blood red t-shirt, some clean undergarments and walked into the bathroom. She took a quick, cold shower and got dressed. She walked out of the bathroom and found a note addressed to her. She opened it and read, it said in blood red ink, stay out of this, it is none of your business and if you don't I will be forced to kill you too. She turns to see Kai watching her and says, "If he thinks intimidation will work with me, then he's crazy". Kai looks at her a little stunned and then grabs some clean clothes and heads into the bathroom.  
  
She walks over to the other side of the bed and bends down next to Rei's prone form. She gets her mouth close to his right ear and yells, "Wake up". Rei wakes up and says, "Huh?" Just then, Kai walks out of the steaming bathroom and says, "What was that yell?" Rei jumps up quickly, grabs his clothes, and heads into the still steamy bathroom.  
  
Kai asks, "Why doesn't this killer scare you?" She says, "It's not like I haven't almost died before". Gypsy yells, "Kai, why did you set the house on fire?" Kai shouts back, "I didn't". Rei and Kai are standing next to her and start laughing as they see three tired boys come running out their bedroom, staring wide-eyed before they realize what is going on. She tells them training starts in twenty minutes. The three formerly tired boys look rather pissed off and hurry to get ready. 


	5. Chapter 5

They trained for six hours and then went in for lunch. Gypsy went back outside and launched her blades into the dish. She laid down on the ground next to the dish and turned on her CD player, it started playing Nelly's Nellyville album. She felt Kai exit the house and knew he wanted answers.  
  
She had her eyes closed and waited for Kai to speak. He doesn't say anything so she says, "Lay down on the other side of the dish, and I will explain". He does so and she asks him, "What do you hear when the blade spins?" He answers, "I don't hear anything special". She sighs then explains that she has always had these two bitbeasts.  
  
Fast forward to the end of the week and Mr. Dickinson showing up.  
  
Mr. Dickinson tells them they are going to go to Paris before going to the tournament. He also notes that everyone is still alive. They take a train to Paris from Glasgow. They arrived in Paris and went to their hotel. They dropped off their stuff and hit the town. Tyson, Max, and Kenny went to a restaurant, Kai and Rei went to a park and did a little sightseeing. Gypsy did some sightseeing on her own and ran into a blond guy and a green-haired guy.  
  
The blond introduced himself as Enrique and the green-haired guy as Oliver. She introduced herself as Gypsy and Enrique invited her along to get something to drink at a café. They arrive at the café and they order something to drink. They talk about stuff, it doesn't really matter. She finishes her drink and bids them goodbye.  
  
She meets up with Kai and Rei a couple of minutes later. They are about a block away from the hotel, when the other three meet up with them. Tyson asks, "How was the sightseeing?" They respond, "Good". They all went to bed, and when they awoke the next morning Kai found a note addressed to him written in blood red ink.  
  
He opened the note and read it. It said she won't be around much longer. You will all die before the end of this tournament. Kai was a little shaken, but then thought, why am I afraid? He put the note away and got ready for the day. They all left the hotel after making sure they had everything and went on to where they were going to stay during the tournament. They boarded a second train that took them to Munich. When they got to Munich, they got in the car that was sent for them. The car pulled up outside a large castle behind another car. They saw the Dark Bladers emerge from the other car and then exited their own car.  
  
The Dark Bladers turned to see their old enemies/friends. The Bladebreakers minus Gypsy greeted them cheerfully. Gypsy is finally noticed by the Dark Bladers and Sanquinex asks, "Who is that?" Gustav comes outside along with the Majestics. Robert looks at the group in front of him and notices a couple of people he doesn't know. The look on Enrique and Oliver's faces when they see Gypsy, is classic. Johnny notices the look and is confused.  
  
Robert asks, "Who are they?" Oliver says, "Isn't that the girl we ran into in Paris?" while leaning in toward Enrique. Enrique answers, "Yeah, looks like her". Johnny asks, "What are you guys talking about?" Robert angrily says, "Nobody answered my goddamn question". Gypsy looks 'offended' and says, "How uncouth". Everyone laughs at Robert and they all say, "I always wanted to throw that back in his face".  
  
"Enrique, Oliver, nice to see you again". Johnny asks, "Who are you?" Another two cars pull up and out step the White Tigers and the All Starz. Gypsy growls as they approach. Rei and Max didn't notice because they were greeting the teams. Kai walks over to Rei and Max and points back towards Gypsy. The White Tigers and All Starz are confused, but Rei and Max know that she is very pissed off. Gustav speaks up and says, "Why don't we go inside and get you all settled". Robert agrees with Gustav and they all enter the castle and are shown to their rooms.  
  
About a half an hour later, Gypsy is back outside the castle and is watching for the last team. She saw a car approaching the castle and said aloud, "Finally". The car arrived and the team got out. 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm back after a long absence. I have been activity challenged, but now the demons won't leave me alone until I finish my stories, so here we go.  
  
The new team had five members. One teen had red hair, piercing blue eyes and a glare colder than the winter winds of Siberia. Another teen had lavender hair and eyes with a scowl on his face. One of the other teens had black hair in a low ponytail, cold dark brown eyes with black specks and looked athletically built. He wore a red bandana, a red sleeveless top, black cargo pants, and black tennis shoes. He also wore a silver chain with a red Chinese dragon pendant on it.  
  
This new team walked up to the door and knocked. Gustav answered the door just as Gypsy dropped from a branch in one of the trees in front of Robert's castle. She walked up behind the team whistling, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" A teen with a large nose turned around glaring at her as Gustav asked them inside.  
  
Everyone was gathered in one of the sitting rooms in the castle when the new team joined them. Robert spoke up saying, "I think we should introduce ourselves, seeing as there are a few new faces among us. I'll start..." Gypsy growled and thought 'I hate when we have to do this'. Johnny says, "Robert, make it short. I don't care to sit your family's entire history again". Robert tried to silence him with a glare.  
  
"Your glares don't scare me, you pompous piece of shit" Johnny declares while glaring back at Robert the same intensity. Enrique tells Johnny to shut up. Robert continues, "My name is Robert Jurgen, I am the descendant of a long line of knights and I was the European champion last year". Oliver spoke next, "I am Oliver, the greatest chef in all of Europe, and I finished in third in the European Championship last year and this year tying with Enrique both times".  
  
Johnny begrudgingly continued the narrative, "I am Johnny Macgregor of the clan Macgregor, the greatest of all the Scottish clans. I am the European champion this year and I plan to stay champ". "I am Enrique, descended from Roman soldiers and a ladies man," said the blond Italian. A teen with black hair that had a slightly bluish cast to it and wearing a floor-length black dress addressed the other bladers, "My name is Drusilla Pietrovich, and I finished in second place at the European Championship with the help of my bit-beast, Arachnilyon. I am from Rumania, a descendant of royalty and I plan to become European champion next year".  
  
Sanquinex took up the torch and said, "I am Sanquinex, a dark creature who resides in shadows and despises the light". "I am Lupinex, a follower of the moon and hunter of the forest," the wolf-like man said. The mummy spoke next, "I am Cenotaph, a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt and follower of the Aton". Zomb continued the introductions, saying, "I am Zomb, the former master of a Cuban sugar plantation, a French criminal, and slave in the colony of Georgia". A man with silver hair and jade green eyes wearing an Edwardian cloak with matching black top hat said, "I am Wraith, the apparition of a once rich and powerful man".  
  
A teen with crimson hair, who is wearing a baseball jersey, chimes in, "I am Michael, the greatest baseball player of all time, and the best blader the world has ever seen". Emily looks at him exasperatedly and says, "You wish, Michael. I am Emily, one of the best bladers/analyzers in the world at this time". "I am Eddie, the best basketball player and a very good blader too" said the African-American teen. The tall, husky teen with a football jersey on said, "I am Steve. I rock on the football field and when I blade".  
  
A Latina teen spoke up, "I am Theresa, I love soccer, and I am no slouch when it comes to blading". "I am Ian," said the teen with the large nose. A teen dressed like a soldier addressed them next, "I am Spencer". Gypsy looked at her watch and then huffed angrily, 'it has already been twenty minutes. I need to train...' she thought. Looking around she saw Kai glaring at her, she rolled her eyes, and continued to listen. "I am Tala and I will be the world champion again," said the teen with piercing blue eyes.  
  
The lavender-haired teen spoke next, "I am Bryan". "I am Blaze," said the teen wearing the red Chinese dragon pendant. A teen wearing a blue phoenix pendant on a silver chain spoke up saying, "I am Ice, a cousin of Mariah and twin sister to Blaze. It's nice to see you again brother, what has it been a year, year and a half since we saw each other last". "It has been about a year, but we can catch up later", Blaze answered.  
  
Lee cleared his throat and then said, "I'm Lee and I will win this tournament". "Whatever Lee. I'm Kevin," said the short, green-haired, violet-eyed teen with his left fang gleaming. A hot pink-haired teen introduced herself next, "I'm Mariah, and I'm happy to be here". The tall bear-like teen spoke up, "I'm Gary". "I'm Rei," said the raven-haired teen with his golden brown eyes shining. A slightly hyper blonde teen said, "I'm Max". The black-haired member of the Bladebreakers said, "I'm Tyson". "I'm Kenny," said the youngest member of the Bladebreakers.  
  
The slate-haired team captain spoke up, "I'm Kai". The Bladebreakers newest member glanced at her watch and then quickly said, "I'm Gypsy Balan". Tyson asked her, "Is that all you are going to tell them? You aren't going to tell them about your two bit-beasts?" Gypsy glared at him, not answering either of his questions. Robert asked the rest of the members of the Bladebreakers, "Does she really have two bit-beasts? How did she get two?" Gypsy looked at him square in the eye and asked, "Why is it any of your business?" She then stood up and walked out of the room. She opened the front door of the castle, walked across the threshold, and then slammed it.  
  
"What's her problem?" Enrique asked. "I don't know" Rei responded. Robert stood and exited the room, intending to check on lunch and then check the cameras to see where this Gypsy girl had stormed off to.  
  
The scent of pine was strong in the forest surrounding Robert's castle. A pair of brown eyes looked up at the castle, their smooth voice saying, "Kai, you will never escape me. I let you live when you were five, but now you are fair game". This person moved off into the forest, blending with the shadows. 


	7. Chapter 7

Gypsy walked back into the castle after being alone for an hour and proceeded to look for Robert. She looked in the sitting everyone had been gathered in, the kitchen, and then turned to head toward Robert's training room when she walked around a corner bumping into Kai.  
  
The phoenix said, "You shouldn't get so pissed, Tyson is an idiot and doesn't think before he says something. You should have realized that by now". "I know, but he got lucky that time," Gypsy told him. "If you are looking for Robert, he is playing chess with Johnny in a drawing room down the hall," Kai told her. "Thanks Kai, you are truly patient" Gypsy as she continued on her way.  
  
Robert says, "Checkmate" and Johnny asks, "Want to play again? It is now best 5 out of 7". "Okay Johnny, last time today" Robert answers. Gypsy knocks on the door and waits for a reply from inside. "Come in" Robert says. Gypsy walks in with her head bowed down and asks, "May I speak with you for a moment, privately?" Robert looks up at her and responds, "Yes, you may". Robert stands up and guides Gypsy back into the hallway, closing the door.  
  
"I am sorry for my outburst earlier, it is just Tyson makes me so mad. I have only known him for about a week and I haven't learned to ignore him yet" Gypsy tells him. Robert looks her over and then asks, "Do you really have two bit-beasts?" "Yes I do, I just didn't want everyone to know right away" Gypsy answers him. "Would you like a battle?" Robert asks and Gypsy quickly responds, "Sure". Robert walks back into the room and in about a minute puts Johnny in checkmate again.  
  
"Johnny, you want to come watch me beybattle Gypsy?" Robert asks the fiery Scot. "Sure, I would love to see how pathetic she is, she is probably worse than Tyson" Johnny tells Robert as they exit the room. Gypsy follows Johnny and Robert to the training room.  
  
The battle is very intense as Zorro battles against Griffolyon, Gypsy wanted to test Zorro against another very strong bit-beast besides Shi-Wei. Gypsy was sitting cross-legged on the left side of the dish and Robert was standing on the other with Johnny leaning against the wall between them. With her eyes closed she listens to the blades spin, feels how they spin, and can even detect the scent of the bit-beasts.  
  
Zorro was slowing down, but not as quickly as Griffolyon. The Griffin stayed spinning long enough for both blades to stop at the same time. Gypsy then picked up her black and blood red blade, telling Zorro how well he had done against such a formidable opponent. She walked around the dish to shake Robert's hand and tell him what a great match he and Griffolyon had given her. Johnny says, "You went easy on her, Robert". Robert turned to Johnny and spoke in his calm manner, "No, I did not".  
  
Just as an argument was about to erupt between the two boys, Gustav came over the castle wide intercom and told everyone that lunch is served.  
  
Everyone sat down at the table and started to dig into the food that was laid before them. Ice and Blaze sat next to each other and whispered things back and forth. They all cleaned their plates, Tyson about three times before everyone else got one done. Everyone went their separate ways until it was time for supper. Theresa caught up with Drusilla and asked to speak with her.  
  
"What is it like being on one of the world's best teams?" Theresa asked Drusilla. Drusilla answered, "It is alright, but I don't particularly care for Enrique's womanizing ways and Johnny is always foul-tempered. What is it like for you?" Theresa thought about it for a second and answered, "It's a good team except Michael, Steve, and Eddie are too cocky. I would have thought they would have humbled themselves a little after losing to the Bladebreakers last year, but they are just as cocky".  
  
"What was it like growing up in Rumania? I bet it was pretty interesting," Theresa asked. "I loved it, all the trees, the way the land looked when covered with snow, and I was able to train in different conditions" Drusilla responded. "You can just call me Dru, how did you like growing up in America?" Dru asked Theresa. "Just call me Resa, all my friends do. Growing up in America is a unique experience, I was able to play soccer, blade and do whatever I wanted, my mother was busy trying to provide for our family when Judy spotted me blading and saw the potential I had. It made things easier on my mom to not have to feed another mouth and I can see her whenever I want".  
  
"Do you want to have a battle?" Dru asked Resa. "I'd love too" Resa responded. They stood up and went to opposing sides of the clearing they had been sitting in and launched their blades. They were going at it fiercely when it started to rain. The rain got heavier and started to really soak the two bladers. "It looks like we got rained out" Resa said. "Yeah, it does. Let's head back to the castle" Dru responded.  
  
Ice and Blaze sat on a window seat in the formal living room. "Do you like blading with the Demolition Boys?" Ice asked Blaze. "Yeah, they are pretty good bladers, but it isn't the same as blading with you" Blaze told her. Blaze asked, "What have Mariah and the other White Tigers been up to?" Ice answered, "Training, playing pranks on everyone in the village, and just generally having a good time".  
  
"It is storming again, just like that night. That is the reason I went to their bedroom, I was scared of the lightning, and I found them dead," Kai said while staring out the window at the raging tempest. A figure crept through the shadows in his room until they were behind him. "What do you want Tala?" Kai asked.  
  
"I just wanted to see how you were doing, I was right, you are thinking of how your parents died again" the blue-eyed teen answered. "That is in the past and you are alright," Tala told him. "No, it isn't in the past. Their killer is after me now and probably everyone else here," Kai said. Tala turned Kai toward him and pulled him into his strong arms, "Don't worry Kai, I won't let them get you" Tala vowed. "Thanks Tala, you always were a great friend" Kai told the wolf while hugging him. 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: As requested, there will be a bloody murder.  
  
Walking through the shadows of the castle hallway, the figure moved with the grace of a cat toward their intended target. They opened the door to the targets room. The target's raven hair gleamed with the moonlight coming in through the window. The figure moved close to the sleeping form of Ray, their golden cat-like eyes shining with murderous glee.  
  
Studying the face of the Bladebreaker, the figure whispered, "You thought all was forgiven. How stupid can you be?" The figure laughs maliciously before pulling a butcher knife from their bag. A shaft of moonlight glinted off the knife and onto Ray's face. The tiger awoke to find a person standing over him with a knife, at the ready to plunge it into him.  
  
The figure raised the knife and stabbed Ray in the gut. He groaned in pain and got a look at the figure's face in the pearlescent moonlight. He asked, "Why? Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends". The figure moved their face closer, saying, "Because you betrayed us, you betrayed me and that I could not forgive". She plunged the knife into his stomach again.  
  
The figure's hot pink colored hair turned crimson because of all the blood splatter. She left the room carefully closing the door behind her. Ray is lying on the bed, gasping for breath until finally a death rattle emits from his throat. The grandfather clock tolled three times as the figure laughed softly and whispers, "It's what he deserved".  
  
At breakfast that morning, everyone arrived on time, ready to eat and then train. Max turns to Kai and asks, "Where is Ray?" Kai looks around and responds, "I don't know. I'll go see if he is up yet". No one notices the small smile on Mariah's face as she hears the concern of his teammates. Kai stands up and walks up the stairs, heading toward Ray's room.  
  
Kai opens the door, looks at the bed, and lets loose a blood-curdling scream. Everyone downstairs hears the scream and run up the stairs to find out what the problem could be. Tala reaches Kai first and looks upon Ray's dead body before turning to the phoenix and hugging him, moving him away from the doorway. Robert looks into the room and then stops everyone else from seeing the grisly scene by shutting the door. Robert commands, "Oliver, call the police, right now".  
  
Kai starts to whisper, "I didn't think they were serious, why Ray? Why didn't they kill me? I'm the one they want anyway". Everybody still standing in the hallway, turns to Kai with questioning looks, all except the Bladebreakers. Gypsy walks over to Tala and Kai. She looks him dead in the eye and slaps him hard. "Get a grip," she says before telling Tala, "Take him to his room, get him to lie down or something". Tala removes Kai from the scene and Robert asks, "What was he mumbling about?" She turns to him and responds, "Gather everyone in the sitting room downstairs and I will explain for Kai and the rest of the Bladebreakers".  
  
The police arrived and took pictures; they called in the coroner. The coroner pronounced him dead and then put Ray's body in the body bag. The police questioned everyone and then told Robert that they would get back to him on the investigation. Everyone had gathered in the sitting room as Gypsy had requested.  
  
Gypsy clears her throat and then begins, "This is how Kai explained it to me a few days ago. His parents were murdered when he was five, then he was sent to the Abbey. His grandfather brought him back to Japan when he was eleven and put him in boarding school. Kai started a little gang using beyblades as weapons and then they started to take the other kids blades. It was last year that he met Tyson and the rest of you, well most of you. Tyson won world Championship and he was shown in the newspapers and magazines along with the other Bladebreakers. Then, while waiting to come to this tournament Kai started having the nightmare about finding his parents dead, which is what actually happened. And now it appears that the killer has started to fulfill their promise to kill all of us, until only Kai is left and then kill him too".  
  
Looking around the room, Gypsy saw shock register on everybody's faces. "Now, since Tala has not come down here to hear an explanation, I can only assume Kai told him sometime yesterday".  
  
"Kai, please, calm down. I know Ray was your friend, but I refuse to allow you to remain hysterical" Tala told Kai, while lying beside him on Kai's bed, holding him. Kai cries into the wolf's shirt while clinging onto him for all he is worth. Kai spoke, "If they can get to Ray within this castle then they can get to any of us". Tala stroked Kai hair and started to hum a Russian lullaby. Kai listened to Tala's heartbeat and the song and fell asleep quickly.  
  
A figure watched from a safe distance in the trees as the police arrived and then the coroner. "I wonder what happened?" the figure said and then he saw the body bag. "Someone is moving in on my territory. I will have to put a stop to this," the figure said before returning to their hideout. 


	9. Chapter 9

Xi Na1: Hey Everybody, I promise there will be a lot of death in this fic, mostly not graphically described. If anyone feels uncomfortable, just hit the back button and forget you ever saw this fic.  
  
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Tyson undresses in his room before moving into his bathroom and turning on the shower. Stepping into it, he pulled the white shower curtain closed and sighed as he relaxed a little after the long day. A figure approached the shower, its shadow being cast on the curtain. Tyson didn't notice because he was rinsing shampoo from his hair. The figure raised a knife and ripped open the shower curtain, startling its unwary occupant. Tyson wipes soap from his eyes and then looks to see who is interrupting his shower.  
  
Tyson quite surprised asks, "What are you doing here? How did you get in the castle?" The figure answers with a grim smile and plunges the knife into his abdomen and drawing it across, allowing the dragon's innards to spill out. The figure fingers Tyson's intestines and then the dragon screams.  
  
Tears leak out of the dragon's eyes as the knife slowly tears through his flesh, removing his right hand. Tyson passes out from the pain as the figure continues to remove some other parts of his body. The blood is washed down the drain and the various body parts that were severed are left to the side in a pile. The shower is turned off and the killer quietly exits the scene, smiling slightly at removing another obstacle from their path.  
  
Kai wakes up still held within Tala's protective arms. He tries to move without waking Tala, but is unsuccessful. "What are you doing, Kai?" Tala asks the slate-haired teen. Kai looks into the wolf's eyes and says, "I thought I heard a scream, I wanted to check it out". Tala shakes his head and tells him, "You probably imagined it, seeing as how you found Rei the way you did".  
  
A blonde teen walks up to the dragon's door and knocks before entering. "Tyson, it is time to get up, you will miss breakfast," Enrique says awaiting a response. Hearing and seeing no response the Italian teen walks over to the bathroom door and pushes it open to find the dead body of Dragoon's master. Rushing out of the room, Enrique gets to the closest phone and calls the police.  
  
The police return to find a crime scene even more grisly than the last, the coroner arrives, and the process from the previous day is repeated. They leave and the killer smirks saying, "They should just stay here, it would make this process easier".  
  
* A couple days later*  
  
The Frenchman is in the kitchen cooking some omelets, bacon, pastries, and boiling water for tea. He hears someone enter the kitchen and assumes it is Enrique, "Hey blondie, can you bring those eggs over here?" The figure sets the eggs next to him on the counter and then touches the back of his neck. "Enrique, what are you doing?" Oliver asks while turning around.  
  
The figure chokes the short Frenchman into unconsciousness and then cuts small pieces of flesh from his body, setting them aside for the moment the figure returns to Oliver's face and carves; I wonder who will be next? The figure then slits the teen's throat, shoving his small frame inside the preheated oven, and then finishes making the breakfast for everyone.  
  
Little pieces of meat are added into the cooking omelets and the bacon is frying up in the pan next to it. Johnny walks toward the kitchen with Michael. "I wonder what he is cooking." Michael says, as they get closer to the kitchen. Johnny shrugs his shoulders and tells him, "It smells like eggs and bacon". "It smells wonderful. I hope it is finished soon," Michael says as they continue on to the dining room.  
  
Gustav brings in some of the cooked food and sets it on the table. All the remaining bladers are seated and begin to dish up the food. Kai is finally out of his room after the deaths of Rei and Tyson. Gustav walks back into the kitchen and opens the oven after the alarm goes off and makes the discovery. He calmly walks back into the dining room and up to Robert, "Master Robert, could you follow me into the kitchen for a minute?"  
  
Robert follows Gustav into the kitchen and sees a horrible sight. Gustav then calls the police as Robert collapses onto the floor shaking and whispering, "Why? He didn't deserve this". The others hear the police sirens and wonder what is going on. The police go through the same routine, except they question everyone on their whereabouts for two hours this time. They leave with the body and the newest victim of the killer shakes everyone.  
  
After a while, everyone just retreats to their own rooms and Robert and Kai have been tranquilized. Trying to figure out who is going to be next isn't going to be easy for the bladers.  
  
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Xi Na1: Two deaths this chapter, who should be next? Do any of you have an idea as to who the killer is? 


	10. Chapter 10

While walking past the door to Chief's bedroom, the crimson haired baseball playing blader heard the sounds of someone throwing up and he resists the urge to gag. Michael hurries on down the corridor, heading toward his outside rendezvous with that little Latina girl from his team. He grins, wondering why she is finally wanting to be alone with him, then shrugs and leaves the castle, walking down the hill in the back to the tennis courts. Whistling softly to himself, he almost floats to the meeting place, excited by what is awaiting him there. Stepping onto the tennis courts, the crimson haired teen glances around, finding a figure hiding in the darkness before he smirks and then softly says, "What made you change your mind?"

The figure slowly approaches him and he grins again before he notices that it is not Theresa. "What…?" Michael says as he sees just who the figure is and he looks around a bit confused before he wonders what is going on. The shadowy figure grabs the blader by the throat with their strong hand, roughly moving him back against the cool metal fencing to the North of the tennis courts. Hearing Michael gasp for breath, the figure grins, pulling a set of steel handcuffs from their pocket, and putting one end around the boy's wrist and then the other end to the fence. Switching hands, the figure quickly does the same to Michael's other arm, making sure the handcuffs are secure before stepping back.

The figure has an evil gleam in their eyes as they move back into the darkness and the crimson haired blader tries to break the cuffs, the rattling of them echoing into the night before the boy feels the metal biting into his flesh, then blood slowly sliding down his arms. Moving back toward him, the figure grins again at their prey before turning on the machine and then stepping behind it, aiming it at the boy's stomach. The first tennis ball hits him hard and Michael feels the air being forced from his lungs, then another small twinge of pain, accompanied by a small trickle of blood. 'A few modifications and this machine works exactly the way I want it to' the figure thinks as they aim it at the boy's left leg, firing another metal studded tennis ball. The crickets chirp quietly all around, though not diminishing the teen's cries of pain and the laughter of his tormenter.

Continuing to fire the tennis balls, the figure laughs with each cry of pain and each trickle of the red substance before they turn off the machine as the teen slumps down, unconscious from this torture. The glint of moonlight off the blade of a knife is seen as the figure quietly approaches, grinning and then unlocks one end of a set of cuffs, turning the boy, so that his face is toward the fence before securing it back to the metal fence. The figure wakes the boy up, laughing as their prey realizes the new position, stepping back, an evil grin on their face, the figure lightly runs the tip of the knife over the crimson haired blader's back and then returns to the machine, starting it up again. Michael endures the pain a little while longer before passing back into the darkness of unconsciousness. Turning the machine off, the shadowy figure walks back over to the teen as they unsheathe the knife again, while grinning at the bruised and battered blader.

Slowly the figure traces the tip of the knife over Michael's back and then wakes him up once again before slicing through the thin material of the baseball jersey along with the not-so-white t-shirt. As the teen's flesh is revealed to the figure's brown eyes, an almost giddy feeling overcomes them and they begin to slice through the blader's skin. The crimson haired boy shudders as he feels the blade cut into his flesh, a bit afraid of what this psycho planned to do next before he passes out from the pain, while the figure chuckles behind him. Carefully removing the skin and muscle to expose the bones, the shadowy figure grins watching the lungs of their prey fluttering as the teen breathes. Sticking the knife first into one lung and then the other, cutting away the lower lobe, brown eyes take in the last few agonizing moments of the boy's life and then as they hear that last gasp for air, they step back. Moving away into the night, the figure looks up to the castle, a smirk on their face before they leave, heading toward the little camp they have set up in the woods, underneath the protective boughs of the trees.

The sun rises the next morning, greeting Johnny with a most gruesome sight as he walks onto the tennis courts. Michael handcuffed to the chain link fence on the other side of the court, slumped in a pool of coagulated blood, skin and muscle dropped nearby along with the lower lobes of his lungs. The Scottish blader turns around, running back toward the castle before he retches in the bushes and then heads inside to call the police. The police quickly respond to the scene, taking pictures and asking questions once again before removing the body, along with the other things around it. The police had also discovered something in Michael's room, a note written in blood-red ink simply saying, "Meet me at the tennis courts at 11:00 tonight" and signed Theresa.


End file.
